Dave Doeren addresses how lower public expectations will impact NC State

Coming into 2022, NC State had high expectations. Unfortunately, for head coach Dave Doeren and company, the Wolfpack failed to live up to those expectations and through turnover are looking at a 2023 season with notably lower ones.

Now, Doeren explained how he thinks having lower public expectations is going to impact NC State in 2023.

“I think just the line of questioning will be a lot different,” Dave Doeren said. “I don’t know, I liked the position we were in last year too. You know, I think we had a lot of good players that had earned that and that was where we were at.”

NC State finished the 2022 season at 8-5 with a loss in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl. The Wolfpack were just 4-4 in ACC play. This was short of expectations, with many thinking of them as possible conference champions.

“This year’s team has got more to prove, probably because of the lack of returning starters, which maybe puts a bigger chip on our shoulder and we do fare well in that kind of landscape, I think,” Doeren said.

“But, this is a team that wants to prove themselves, no different than last year’s team. I think last year we knew we were up against expectations and probably complacency. You know, this year we’ve got to kind of out-kick where people are putting us, and that’s what I think is fun about this, just getting a chance to go out there and compete and prove who we are.”

Dave Doeren was quickly asked if it changes how the coaching staff approaches things during the season.

“Not really how we coach. It definitely changes conversations. I mean, you’re going to be talking about different things. We don’t have 21 starters back. So, we’re talking about a lot of different things in that room and in our case we’ve got 40-something new faces by the time we start in August. We’re talking about a lot of different things than last year when it comes to team chemistry and getting this thing to gel.”

Dave Doeren on the NC State quarterback competition

Last season, NC State knew that it had a good quarterback in Devin Leary. However, going into 2023, there is going to be an open competition for the starting job, which Dave Doeren gave an update on.

“I can’t tell you how it’s going to unfold. I mean, that’s why we’re practicing. But the quarterback position is the same as every position on the team. There’s competition there. Excited that we’ve been able to add an experienced player that has the background in our offense that Brennan [Armstrong] has,” Doeren said.

“Every position deserves competition. I think that’s what brings out the best in these guys and as we saw last year, it’s not just about who wins the starting job. It’s about the development of everybody because any of them could end up being our starter at any time.”